High school isn't much about learning all the different subjects, it's much more about learning how to behave with people aka social skill. The author should put his daughter back into high school again in order not to have a socially incompetent daughter when she's older.
My fear -- and the fear of our immediate family -- at the beginning of homeschooling was that the kids would suffer socially. What we've discovered in the 1.5 years since starting is that the opposite has happened.
Here in Colorado, homeschooling has been on the rise so finding other homeschooling families is relatively easy. Local groups meet on a regular basis: the kids socialize with other kids, the parents cross-pollenate with other parents.
My kids have more friends now than when they were in conventional school (both charter and "regular" public schools), and they were hardly loners then. They also get to socialize more with their friends since they have dedicated time for that, instead of during hurried lunchtimes and between classes. And yes, annoying kids are also homeschooled so my children still have to learn and refine those social coping skills during the get-togethers.
I realize that there is a wide variation in homeschooling experiences, but don't believe the myth about a lack of socialization: if it is important to the parents, it can be easily dealt with.
An additional note regarding the OP itself and the author removing his daughter from conventional school simply to learn web development: I'm not convinced it was the right idea. His comment about his child being "stuck wasting her time in high school taking yet another history class" rubs me the wrong way for the same reason it does many other commenters here on HN; at that age, being exposed to different things is not only good but necessary to build critical thinking skills and broaden horizons. While it is possible that the author had other reasons to homeschool his daughter than simply to immerse her into the world of software development, he doesn't do a good job of detailing them.
Don't fool yourself into believing it is the same as public school. I was homeschooled until 9th grade and during that time we were always actively engaged with other homeschooling families. Still, there is no substitute for being around your peers 40 hours a week. Which is good and a bad thing.
Going into public school was a big shock for me and even more so for my brother who only went to public school senior year of high school. It took both of us years to catch up in social skills. Be aware you are making a tradeoff, whether you think so or not.
Be aware you are making a tradeoff, whether you think so or not.
Oh, we're keenly aware that there's a trade-off. Both my wife & I went through the public school system, and until the last few years considered homeschooling to be "weird".
We're also keenly aware that there's nothing to be gained from forced exposure to apathetic/incompetent "teachers" (more like classroom managers than mentors or instructors) and the occasional junior sociopath. Being bored, unchallenged and unhappy with a group of other bored, unchallenged and unhappy kids results in no additional intellectual or emotional payoff after a couple of days.
Middle school -- where my children are currently, age-wise and academically -- and high school are not the same social experience as elementary school. Yes, there's plenty of socialization....but generally not the kind of socialization that many consider pleasant. And there appears to be far less actual learning taking place now than when I went to public school a quarter-century ago; instruction has been largely replaced with standardized test-taking and the preparation for those specific tests.
Homeschooling, like public schooling, is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. However, I know my children and have observed their behavior when dealing with not only their peers, but adults and younger children. Socialization isn't my top concern at this point: ensuring that they have a solid foundation in language, math, science and critical-thinking skills is.
